-LRB- RollingStone.com -RRB- -- Cee Lo Green , Blake Shelton , Adam Levine and Christina Aguilera -- all four coaches of `` The Voice '' -- joined producer Mark Burnett , host Carson Daly and the show 's social media maven Christina Milian for a press conference Sunday night at Burnett 's Malibu home . Looking out at the panoramic view of the Pacific Ocean , Levine quipped , `` So this is what reality TV buys you . ''

That , or maybe just knowing what makes for good TV . And Burnett and his team have demonstrated a knack for spotting opportunities . Last season there was shock among fans when singer Jesse Campbell , one of the favorites to win the title , was eliminated by coach Christina Aguilera . Even her fellow coaches expressed their disbelief .

This season , which starts September 10th , they 'd be able to do something about it , thanks to a new element called `` the Steal , '' which allows judges to pick up a contestant who 's been ousted by another coach . Journalists got a sneak peak at a recently taped battle round between two of Green 's competitors , who each delivered a smoking rendition of Mariah Carey 's `` Vision of Love . ''

As soon as Green carried out the unenviable task of choosing just one , the other coaches hammered on their buttons and made their pitches to bring the loser onto one of their teams , just like they do in the battle rounds . Judges can only pick two additional team members , which will lead to a new cycle of the show called `` Knockout Rounds , '' where the teams will pare down before beginning the live episodes .

The new opportunity for poaching has added a lot to the show , the coaches told Rolling Stone . `` It 's nice to throw those elements in to kind of spice things up , '' Levine said . `` Those things definitely help keep it fresh for us . ''

It also adds more pressure , Shelton said . `` There 's nothing that 's more nervewracking than knowing , ` Okay , both these singers did really good and I got ta pick one and I know damn good and well one of these other three are gon na steal the person I do n't pick , ' '' he said . `` There 's a chance that person may go on and win this and that 's gon na make me look really stupid . That definitely goes on in your mind . As an artist and somebody on television I have enough of an ego that I do n't want to look that stupid . I want to look brilliant . ''

Ultimately , though , he recognizes it 's great for the show and viewers . `` It 's going to be so exciting for people watching at home , '' Shelton said . `` Here 's the truth , as much as we want to sit up here and talk about how different this show is , and it is , what people love the most is those damn buttons . People love to see us hit those buttons and somebody 's life is changed at that moment . This is another way of changing somebody 's life later on in the show , where they think all hope is lost , they 're going home , the next thing you know the button gets pushed and they 're right back in the game again . That 's pretty exciting . ''

The new components add another element to what Levine , Aguilera and Shelton call `` the best season yet . '' Only Green holds out on that , saying , `` A few memorable things have happened thus far , but season three is n't completed yet , so I do n't know if this is the favorite season yet . ''

For the four coaches , though , the biggest strength of this season is their bond . In the first clip shown at the junket , the four are seen performing the Rolling Stones ' `` Start Me Up , '' and they resembled a band , much more than they did in the combined performances of the first two seasons .

What helped meld them into a tight , family-like unit is the way all four work with contestants , Aguilera said . `` Over time we see how each of us react as coaches , giving such heartfelt advice and attention to these up-and-coming young fresh talents and it 's so nice to see , '' she said . `` It 's refreshing because we came into it not wanting to knock anybody down and I think we all respect that . We might take shots at each other , but never the talent . So there 's just a magic , there 's a bond there that 's unbreakable at this point . ''

Shelton concurred , recognizing the quartet is now joined together by the success of the series . `` We 're always going to be connected to each other through this show , '' he says .

He admitted there have been some rough moments , like any family . `` We 've been through a lot of s ** t with each other , no doubt , '' he said . `` We 've had fights , ups and downs and weird moments and f**k - offs and all that stuff . But all friends go through that I think and you either go through it and you never speak to each other again or you go through it and your relationship is even stronger . We did n't have to come back together , but we did , and our relationships are stronger . ''

Levine agreed that the coaches have left the rockiest moments behind them . `` We are getting along better than we ever have and I guess our energies have all congealed and we 're very , very close at this point , '' he said .

The show will run this year in both the fall and spring seasons , which could result in one or more of the coaches having to take a sabbatical to go on tour . Although Burnett said the coaches have their `` chairs for live , '' the assembled journalists were keen to speculate on who the replacement coaches might be . Green shut down the speculation while nicely summing up the bond among the current four .

`` For me , there 's nobody comes to mind that can replace my Blake , my Adam and my Christina , '' he said .

See full story at RollingStone.com .

Copyright © 2011 Rolling Stone .

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The competition is adding an element called `` the Steal ''

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Coaches will have the option of picking up a contestant another coach has dropped

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Levine says the coaches have left the rockiest moments behind them